Emma Willard


Objectives:
I, Emma Willard, believe that women are just as intelligently capable as men. Educational discrimination of girls is the cause that I fight against, and hope to one day completely liminate. With my experience as a scholar and an educator, I think I have proved the fact that girls and women are able to learn and teach just as well as any man could.

Accomplishments:
I take pride at my accomplishment in 1814, when I opened the Middlebury Female Seminary in my own home after leaving my job as a teacher. Later on I still thought more could be done with female education so I published An Address to the Public; Particularly to the members of the Legislature of New-York, Proposing a Plan for Improving Female Education. With the money I received from Troy, New York, I was able to open another school called the Troy Female Seminary. it was indeed the very first of its kind.

Activities and Interests:
I enjoy learning about new topics and teaching them in my seminaries, as well as the style and grace of being a "lady". In my life I have published many articles about women's education, which I hope are seen.

Education:
I thank my father for not sharing the views that women are incapable of learning, for he taught me so much, such as philosophy, and encouraged me to pursuit my education. I was enrolled in Berlin Academy in 1802, and within two years became a teacher. When I established the Middlebury Female Seminary I attempted to take courses at Middlebury College, but to no surprise was denied because I am a female. Instead, I self-taught myself as well as with the help of my friends to become an adequate teacher for the school.

References:
Dr. John Willard
My wife Emma is a strong woman who has made significant contributions to females as well as performing as a mother. When I lost my job, she opened her Middlebury Female Seminary despite a rocky start to help out her family.

Governor DeWitt Clinton
At first I was shocked to see Emma Willard'Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 20published pamphlet, "...Plan for ImprovinProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 20Female Education". Her ideas of teaching subjects such as anatomy to girls were surprising, but she was able to catch my attention and other men's attention in the city of Troy. We decided that it would be appropriate to raise the taxes so we could give the school $4000 to get it up and running.

Sources:
"NWHM Exhibit: The History of Women and Education." National Women's History Museum. N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2010. <http://www.nwhm.org/exhibits/education/Biographies Willard.htm>.

"Spotlight Biography: Education. "Smithsonian Education- Welcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/spotlight/school.html>.